


Kintsugi

by MnMJax



Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DCU (Comics)
Genre: AU, Fix-It of Sorts, I read a sad fanfiction and wanted to make it happy (ish), Jar of (Broken) Hearts Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 15:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11535408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MnMJax/pseuds/MnMJax
Summary: Japanese 金継ぎ, literally "golden joinery".The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold, highlighting the cracks instead of disguising them. Understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.They aren't okay, and they probably won't be okay for a long time, but this... this is a step in the right direction.





	Kintsugi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [carzla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carzla/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Castle (Heart) of Glass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6300589) by [carzla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carzla/pseuds/carzla). 



> Basically if you haven't read Carzla's series Jar of (Broken) Hearts, this will make absolutely no sense whatsoever. If you're interested in this you should read that (also just read it in general, it's so well-written and full of angst).

**** “ _ I’m not looking for an interview, Mr. Wayne. I’m asking to talk about a personal matter regarding a mutual acquaintance of ours.” _ The message had said. Bruce had an idea of who this ‘mutual acquaintance’ was, and initially denied the reporter’s request for a meeting. 

Unfortunately for him, Lois Lane was one of the  _ most persistent women he’d ever met _ , and she wasn’t taking it. After fielding three more calls over the course of a week, Bruce Wayne walked into his office to find the woman herself sitting on the plush couch by the windows, waiting patiently. He only managed to stare for a few seconds before he recovered, his public persona back in place.

“Can I help you, Ms. Lane?” Bruce asked with deliberate indifference, crossing the room to his desk. Lane didn’t say anything until he’d sat down.

“I came in here planning to be angry with you, you know. But honestly, you look as bad as he does.” she said coolly. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A blatant lie, and he almost winced at how obvious it sounded.

“You and I both know that’s a lie, Mr. Wayne. Clark Kent. Your ex, if that’s what the two of you were.” Bruce was too slow to respond, and that gave Lois a window to continue. “It was like pulling teeth to get him to tell me anything about you. I had to do some snooping to get your name at all.”

“Are you here for a reason, Ms. Lane? I have a meeting I need to be getting to shortly.” Bruce said dryly.

“You broke my best friend’s heart, for information about  _ Superman _ . You  _ used _ him. I still want to chew you out for it, but you look as bad as he does. What I don’t understand is why you haven’t done anything about it. Called him, apologized,  _ anything _ . It’s been months, and you’re both still suffering for this.”

And Bruce was so  _ tired _ of talking about this, and so very frustrated that she saw through his facade to the heart of it, and maybe that loosened his tongue a little bit. Not that he wasn’t kicking himself from the moment he started speaking.

“Do you really think he’d forgive me after all that? You said it -- I used him. I don’t deserve his forgiveness, even if he offered it.” He finally responded bitterly.  _ That’s right, you don’t. How does it feel to break someone’s heart when they cared for  _ **_you_ ** _ rather than your little playboy mask? _ The dark little whisper in his mind tormented him, reminding him of that.

“Clark is forgiving to the point of naivety sometimes,” Lois admitted, “But this... I don’t know. The only way  _ you _ ’ll know is if you talk to him. Call him, send an email,  _ anything _ .” She stood from the couch, looking like she would see herself out, before she paused at the door.. “If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t forgive you. But that’s me. Whatever went on with you two... it was special to him. Maybe special enough to try again.” 

Bruce didn’t know what he wanted. To apologize, maybe, for leading Clark on like he did. Friendship? He didn’t deserve it, and still wasn’t optimistic about his prospects as far as forgiveness went.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to see Clark broken, the way he’d looked when he returned from his two-day disappearance.

He didn’t know what to do, except...

* * *

 

“What are you doing in Metropolis?” 

This was not the voice of Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet. This was Superman, who barely felt different to the eyes behind the mask. He carried himself differently than he did when he was Clark, that was true, but there was enough depth behind blue eyes for him to see Clark there just as much as Superman. 

Neither looked happy to see the Bat of Gotham, perched on the edge of a tall building like an unwelcome gargoyle.

Bruce wasn’t sure how to answer at first, just looking at Superman for a few long seconds. 

He hadn’t seen him since everything happened. Sure,  _ everyone _ saw when Superman was sighted somewhere saving the world, but Bruce hadn’t seen  _ Clark _ since he destroyed his surveillance equipment. It threw him off balance, mentally.

“I  _ – _ ” Bruce paused, steeling himself. “Bruce Wayne sends his apologies.”

That brought Superman up short, briefly dipping from where he hovered over the building as naked shock flitted over his face before it worked itself back into a disapproving, confused frown. Bruce didn’t know what to make of the long silence that followed.

“Why... Why would he send that message through you? Why  _ now _ ?” he finally asked, settling his feet onto the roof a few feet away from Bruce. He wouldn’t look at him, he noticed. “Why not just contact me himself?”

_ Because he’s a coward. A damned selfish coward. _ “...Because he didn’t think you’d want to see him.”  _ And he wouldn’t blame you, if it turns out that’s true.  _ “A friend talked him into it.” For given value of ‘friend’, and it bothered him to admit Lois had gotten to him with her visit. She’d barely  _ said _ anything, it was ridiculous that he let it affect him.

_ She was right that we’re both miserable, though... _ Even if it was for different reasons, he had to give her that.

“Lois...” Superman made the connection quickly -- she had to have been one of the only people who knew who Clark had been dating. Bruce let his silence answer for him. 

“Tell Bruce _ – _ Tell him maybe. Maybe he and _ –  _ Clark Kent can meet up again. Maybe... maybe we can actually talk about this... sometime.” Superman struggled with the words, and Bruce gave one stiff nod when he turned in his direction.

That seemed to be all he could take for the moment, taking to the air and disappearing into the clouds. Just like Lois, it was like he hadn’t been there.

When Bruce finished his nightly rounds of haunting the criminals back in Gotham that night, he came home to a text.

_ Coffee in Metropolis? _

**Author's Note:**

> Not the greatest (and wow it took me over a year to finally sit down and write it. whoops!) but I finally got something out of this that I'm mostly happy with. (Except the ending). Let me know what you think!
> 
> (It's also worth noting that this might be a little wonky because I wrote 2/3 of this whilst concussed. Concussions make it so EASY to write. Can you feel the sarcasm?)


End file.
